ARTiculation at Arsht: Summer Slam Edition! FREE slam poetry event featuring artists from across Miami-Dade County - August 20

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County Presents

ARTiculation at Arsht: Summer Slam Edition
Free slam poetry competition gives local poets and slam teams a chance to compete for a $1,000 grand prize and features original pieces performed by poets from across Miami-Dade County

Curated by Deborah Magdalena and Just John
Hosted by IngridB
featuring DJ SheJ Hercules from 99 JAMZ

Saturday, August 20, 2022 at 7 p.m.
FREE
Ziff Ballet Opera House

Miami, FL – July 12, 2022 – The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County (@arshtcenter) is pleased to announce the return of ARTiculation at Arsht with the first Summer Slam Edition on Saturday, August 20. ARTiculation at Arsht: Summer Slam Edition is a free slam poetry event produced by the Arsht Center in which local, regional and national poets perform their original work live on stage at the Arsht Center. Local poets are invited to sign up to be selected to perform their original work and win up to $1,000. Competing poets will be judged by members of the audience and three invited spoken word connoisseurs. The selected poets will join a specially curated group of Miami artists to perform their pieces live at ARTiculation at Arsht: Summer Slam Edition. At the event, audiences will witness storytellers transform their words into performances that remind everyone of the integral role poetry and spoken word play in our culture.

Individual poets and slam teams (of 4 members or less) are welcome to sign up here to compete now through August 1. In addition to the $1,000 grand prize, competing poets can win $500 for 2^nd place or $250 for 3^rd place. ARTiculation at Arsht: Summer Slam Edition is free to the public. First-Access Passes are available beginning today at arshtcenter.org.

ARTiculation at Arsht: Summer Slam Edition was curated by Miami artist and art educator Deborah Magdalena (@funkdalena) and spoken word poet Just John (@justjohnig). Magdalena is a cultural curator and performing artist. She is the founder of the Spoken Soul Festival, an annual three-day festival held at the Arsht Center with the mission of spotlighting South Florida women artists. Just John is an artist from Miramar, Florida who has made downtown Miami home. He has performed in multiple facets of the arts all around South Florida including Art Basel, PK's People Matter Fest and has been commissioned by major sports teams including the Miami Dolphins, the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Miami Heat's Alonzo Mourning, The Florida Panthers, and the Homestead Miami Speedway among others.

The event will be hosted by IngridB (@msingridb) and features music by SheJ Hercules (@shejhercules) from 99 JAMZ. Ingrid “IngridB” Bazin has consistently curated events featuring local and international artists in South Florida and beyond since 2001. Her event agency, On the B Side, specializes in promoting quality poetry, music, art and culture throughout South Florida.

She-J Hercules is known as one the hottest radio personalities and female DJs spinning in South Florida. She is the first female mixer ever on WEDR 99 JAMZ and can be heard on the airwaves Monday through Friday on The Grind with the Turn Up Partnaz from 7pm to midnight. She-J Hercules is a native of South Florida with parents of Caribbean descent. Whether She-J Hercules is on the radio as a personality or DJ or even outside of the radio station, audiences will feel her energy and love through the plethora of genres that she plays.

The competition will be judged by local poets Octavia Yearwood (@octaviayearwood) and Darius Daughtry (@dariusdaughtry).

ARTiculation at Arsht: Summer Slam Edition will also feature poets from across Miami-Dade County performing original pieces about their city in pre-recorded videos. These videos will be shared with the Arsht Center’s social media channels to an audience of 100,000+ throughout the summer leading up to the live event in August. In addition to Just John, who will be representing Downtown Miami, featured artists include:

Marnino Toussaint (Little Haiti) (@marnino_) is a South Florida-based songwriter and poet. Marnino has been on the stages of Tedx Miami, Broward 100's Duende!, and has worked alongside the likes of actors Omari Hardwick, Victoria Justice, author Mary Pope Osborne and has opened for Hip Hop legend, Chuck D.

Calvin “madeS.O.N.” Early (Liberty City) (@calvinearlyspeaks) is an internationally recognized speaker and spoken word artist with more than 16 years of experience in arts-based learning, youth development and community relations.  The strength of his work is the ability to combine humor and real-life experiences, with a presence that commands attention. He is most known for using powerful spoken word poetry as a vehicle to provoke thought, evoke change, and drive a message home to youth and those who advocate for them.

Ciara Hendrix (South Beach) (@cicispillsink) is a poet and freelance journalist covering the intersection of arts and culture. Her work strives to facilitate healing and liberation for the reader; particularly the parts of ourselves we have been made to feel ashamed of.

NelzGetLive (Homestead) (@_nelzgetlive) is a poet and rapper hailing from Miami, FL. His art is comprised of his experiences growing up in Miami’s vibrant, cultural landscape.

Gaby Martinez (Kendall) (@cryptidpoetrybro) is a spoken word poet based in Miami. They enjoy writing, being surrounded by their friends, and creating. Their own poetry is an expression of self, most of it being tied to some facet of their identity or experience they have lived through. For them, poetry is the one thing that gives them an outlet and a space to grieve, release, and heal.

Sherrika Mitchell (The Everglades) (@legs_almighty) was born in Jamaica and raised in South Florida. She is a two-time Alum of Florida Atlantic University. She is a Slam Poet, a former member of the DADA National Slam Team that formerly ranked 6th and 2nd in the nation.

Conscious Sheesh (Miami Gardens) (@conscioussheesh) is one of the most nostalgic and illustrious poets from South Florida. Being of Trinidadian descent, her artistry encompasses Afro-Caribbean heritage, Indo-spirituality, and cultural reformation.

@ArshtCenter                        #ArshtCenter